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The Nova is far superior to the 870 in form and function yet it's cheap because of their manufacturing process, it's a one piece plastic stock/receiver with the receiver having a metal lining where necessary. Pretty space age. It also has a very fast action. See if you can find a video of Tom Knapp, Benelli's Exhibition Shooter, setting a world record with his Nova back in 2000. 8 clay pigeons stacked and thrown in the air with one hand while holding the Nova in the other, 8 shots, 8 broken birds in 2.1 seconds before they hit the ground. His record is 9 in 2.3 seconds with an M1 semi auto. I doubt you'll find a pump gun with a faster, more fluid action than that of a Nova.
On the other hand, it's a slug, IMO. It feels light at a first but when it's loaded it feels very forend heavy to me personally. Add the recoil reducer to the stock which if you have any intention of shooting 3.5" shells you'll want to do and it becomes a weighty combination. It even kicks your ass shooting 3" loads, especially Turkey loads but I'm confident that's a characteristic of many lighter weight pump guns where there is no bolt reaction to absorb inertia.
chapster actually does have THE ONLY Nova without a rattle trap forend. I have not seen nor heard one without this characteristic. Perhaps they sent the quiet ones to the Brits, afterall they get to use silencers and we don't! If Turkey is your forte then expect to muffle some sound and be cautious.
I have never owned a pump gun nor shot one in my life till I bought my Nova for some strange reason about a year and a half ago (it was just to cheap!). It was to be a designated turkey gun and it served me well on my first Turkey outing by dropping my first Tom at 40 yards, one shot. Even though it worked so well I vowed never to try the pump experiment again. It was just to weird and unusually balanced for my style and liking. No reflection on the gun.
My good friend up in Sacramento, CA has been shooting a Nova in the duck blind for probably 4-5 years. I always gave him sh*t about his rattley plastic gun! Last year I shot in his pit and was looking at his Nova in between flights. It looked like a stick of mud shaped somewhat like a shotgun. I asked him a question that only someone who had stripped down a Nova would know the answer to. Keep in mind this guy is not majorly gun or mechanically inclined. He stared blindly into space because he had no clue about the interior of his gun. It had NEVER been taken apart and cleaned, only 4-5 years of a "chance" wipe down from the outside in! It has never missed a beat.
You can't go wrong with the price these sell for new. You can steal them on the used market too. I have a young kid that's saving up to buy mine for $300 with the recoil reducer. It's in the safe waiting for him. If you're in the market for used, drop me a PM and I'll refer you to a sight where they pop up frequently.
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